EMPOWER: verb = emancipate, unshackle, set free, liberate

About me

I am Sarah. It’s nice to meet you. If I already know you, it’s nice to see you here.

Pictured above is me with my favourite person, my ally, my biggest cheerleader and supporter. I like him a lot.

This is my blog. I really love to write, and this is where I do some of that. I write about the things that are important to me and about life experiences that have impacted me. I was adopted – I write about that. I grew up in a dysfunctional home but that looked good on the outside – I write about that. I’ve gone through a lot of layers of healing my heart, so I share about that too. I also like to share things thoughts about parenting and my faith. Above all, I want to be honest and tell the stories that matter, the ones that can help people. It’s not always easy, and it’s not welcome by everyone, but it is important so we can help each other. (Here is an excellent article on “Disruptive Truth-Telling” that hits the nail on the head for me.)

So who am I? I am a believer in Jesus. He is the reason I’ve come out okay – better than okay, actually. I live for Him, and want Him reflected in all I do. I am a survivor of the emotional, psychological, and spiritual abuse that comes from being raised in a narcissistic family. I am a survivor of the adoption system. I am the wife of 13 years to an amazing, supportive man who has always encouraged and been a part of my journey into health. I am the mother of two boys and one girl – my kids have been a huge part of my healing, and have been a source of God’s redemptive love in my life. And I am Sarah – a 35 year old woman who is discovering who GOD has made me to be; not what others told me I should be, but who GOD says I am.

And who does God say I am? I am a daughter of the Most High. I am more than a conqueror. I am a writer, a story-sharer, an empathizer, a cheerleader, and a truth-teller. I think deeply about things and am an idealist. I am spontaneous and impulsive and want all that life has to offer. I’m a runner, a reader, an occasional knitter, a learning-photographer, an adventure-enthusiast, and travel-lover. I love to cook and make things to eat and use in our home that are good for our health (read: I’m equal parts hippie and granola bar) . I love yard work more than house work, because I feel most alive when I’m outside. I am an ENFP/INFP (I am fiercely independant and crave creativity and freedom) and a 7 with an 8 wing on the Enneagram (the Enthusiast with Realist tendencies – I have a fierce need for fun and stimulation, but also for justice, protection of the underdog, and will say uncomfortable truths). I am learning to own those things and work with my strengths and weaknesses.

Thanks for joining me. I’m glad you’re here. My hope is that you will find something here that resonates with you, and that gives voice and validation to your journey too.

The Man in the Arena

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” (Theodore Roosevelt, 1910)

Empower the Daughters on Pinterest

Follow my Pinterest board for some great resources on narcissistic abuse and adoption issues.